Astronomy News20070320 HEAG meeting.ppt

Astronomy News2007/03/20 HEAG meeting Astronomers Puzzled by Spectra of Transiting Planet Orbiting Nearby Star First spectra of exoplanets Two teams reported on Feb 21 on their independent findings about two transiting exoplanets. These are the first spectra from planets outside our own solar system. C. J. Grillmair et al., ApJ 658, L115-L118, 2007 April 1 “A Spitzer spectrum of the exoplanet HD 189733b” L. J. Richardson et al., Nature 445, 892-895, 2007 Feb 22 “A spectrum of an extrasolar planet” HD 189733b HD 189733 K0 V star 19.3 pc HD 189733b orbital period = 2.2 days orbital radius= 0.031 AU duration of secondary eclipse ~ 1.9 hr Observations Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope 2006 October 21 and November 21 12 hr of telescope time 7.5-14.7 μm flux ranging from 0.6 to 1.8 mJy 0.49%±0.02% of the flux of the parent star Flat flux ratio Theoretical calculations by different teams unanimously predicted that water vapor should be the most obvious spectral feature. However, the variation in the measured fractional flux is very nearly flat over the entire wavelength range and shows no indication of significant absorption by water or methane. Why lack of water First of all, there could really be no water, which is not very likely. Second, there could be some other chemicals in the planets atmosphere that emit radiation just where water absorbs it, thereby effectively camouflaging the signature of the water. This too seems unlikely. Third, the water could be hidden underneath an opaque cloud layer the Spitzer telescope cant see through. Fourth, a theoretical model suggests that, if the planet is in tidal lock (in other words, is so close to its sun that the same side always faces the same way), the atmospheric temperature profile on the day-side of the planet could be such that spectral features are suppressed. Is something hiding the molecules from sight? One clue comes from the spectrum of a second planet, HD 209458b. That spectr